The Bitly alternative that keeps the good parts free
Custom back-halves, editable destinations, styled QR codes and real-time analytics - The features link tools usually meter, free on GoTo.now.
Shorten your first link free
Why people switch
Links that never expire
Your printed QR codes and evergreen posts keep working - No free-tier link retirement, ever.
Edit destinations free
Re-point any link after sharing it. On most paid tools this is the feature behind the paywall; here it's standard.
Free custom back-halves
goto.now/your-campaign on every link, with an account that costs nothing.
Private analytics
Clicks by day, sources, countries and devices - Visible only to you, never to competitors.
QR codes without watermarks
Custom colors, your logo, print-grade SVG downloads, unlimited scans.
A real API
Everything the site does is automatable over REST v3 - Keys on request, limits sized to your volume.
GoTo.now vs Bitly, feature by feature
| Feature | GoTo.now | Bitly free tier |
|---|---|---|
| Custom back-half | Free, unlimited | Limited per month |
| Edit destination after sharing | Free on every link | Paid plans |
| QR codes | Styled, logo, SVG - Free | Basic on free |
| Link expiry | Never | Links persist, features gated |
| Click analytics | Full & private, free | Limited on free |
| Price to unlock everything above | $0 | Paid subscription |
Bitly is a strong product with a big enterprise suite - Landing pages, custom domains on their infrastructure, deep team tooling. If you need those, it's a fair buy. The switch case is simpler: most people use five features, and those five are exactly what GoTo.now keeps free.
Switching takes an afternoon, not a project
- Export your links from your current tool (CSV export exists on most).
- Recreate them here - By hand for a handful, or via the API for thousands;
findIfExistsmakes re-runs safe, and custom back-halves preserve meaningful slugs. - Update the sources you control - Bios, templates, signatures.
- Leave old printed links alive where they exist; route everything new through goto.now from today.
From then on, a changed destination is an edit in your dashboard, not a re-share.
What you don't give up
Reliability isn't a paid feature here: the same engine has created 2.9 million+ short links since November 2024 and serves their redirects in about 50 milliseconds. And transparency actually improves - Anyone can verify where a goto.now link leads with the free link checker before clicking, while your performance numbers stay yours alone.
Honest limits
No custom domains on our infrastructure today, no built-in landing-page builder. If either is your dealbreaker, we'd rather say it here than after you've migrated. Everything else - Shortening, QR codes, analytics, branded links - Is fully there and fully free. Weighing other tools too? The Short.io, Rebrandly, Dub and T.LY comparisons use this same honest format.